The Red Bulls were stuck in a three-game losing skid, their worst since coach Jesse Marsch took over in January 2015.
Toronto FC came in riding a six-game winning streak, the longest in the league.
Naturally, they played to a pulsating 1-1 draw before a crowd of 21,025 at Red Bull Arena, the final 15 minutes end-to-end action.
Marsch said beforehand the Red Bulls would learn a lot about themselves in how they responded to their slump facing MLS’ hottest side.
“We’ll find out a lot about ourselves,’’ said Marsch, whose Red Bulls had conceded eight goals and scored just one in that skid, a cosmetic extra time tally in last weekend’s 3-1 beating at the hands of the L.